Police on Tuesday laid another charge against alleged serial killer Sararat "Aem" Rangsiwuthaporn after police said they had evidence showing she poisoned a 15th victim with cyanide in 2015.
According to deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, who is leading the investigation, police in Thong Lor -- the area where the death of the 15th alleged victim, Monthathip "Sai" Khao-in, occurred -- on Tuesday invited the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital doctor, who performed the autopsy, for questioning.
The doctor was said to have done everything required in the autopsy process but had not deemed it necessary to store Monthathip's blood and tissue samples, police said.
According to the investigation team, Ms Sararat and Monthathip co-owned a shop in Wat Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom in 2015. That same year, Monthathip was invited to join a private savings scheme, with Ms Sararat in debt to her for more than 100,000 baht.
Monthathip was found dead in her apartment in Thong Lor on July 7 of that year; the autopsy showed that heart failure was the cause of death. Many belongings, including the house key that Ms Sararat held, were reported to have been lost after her death.
Meanwhile, the Lawyers Council of Thailand will provide volunteer lawyers to assist the relatives of victims in taking legal action, said its chairman, Wichian Chubtaisong.
At a press conference attended by the victims' coordinator, Rapee Chamnanrua, Mr Wichian said that the families of five of 14 alleged victims came to the council on Tuesday to discuss its offer of legal assistance.
The council has offered to help the group take court action, Mr Wichian said, citing their experience in a similar case with the death of Passaporn Boonkasemsanthi, who was poisoned by her husband in 2001.
The council is now in the process of drafting an action plan, said Mr Wichian, adding that Ms Sararat's mental illness and pregnancy would not spare her from a court date.
The council will also launch a case against Ms Sararat's lawyers over inappropriate media comments, he said.
